The downtown New Kensington building that until a few months ago housed a Citizens Bank branch is slated to be sold in an online auction in April.
A $200,000 starting bid was placed on the six-story building on Ninth Street at Fifth Avenue. The auction through Ten-X will run from April 11-13.
Citizens Bank closed its branch in the building in November, following an announcement in August.
The only other occupant in the 50,000-square-foot building is the New Kensington Redevelopment Authority, which has its offices on the third floor. The rest of the building is vacant.
Authority Executive Director Bill Herman could not be reached for comment Friday.
KeWe New Kensington bought the building from the redevelopment authority in 2003 for $400,000. Citizens Bank and the authority were the only occupants at that time, too.
The nearly 100-year-old building, at 901 Fifth Ave., previously housed Mellon Bank and, originally, the Logan Trust Co. The Logan Trust Co. name is engraved on the building, which at one time housed offices for doctors, lawyers and others.
James Kelly is a managing member of KeWe and a senior vice president and principal with Avison Young, a commercial real estate company. After owning the building for 18 years, Kelly said the partners are now all older and want to dispose of it.
“With Citizens Bank leaving the property, we thought it was the right time,” he said.
Although KeWe officials in 2003 said they intended to redevelop the building into an office complex, Kelly said that was not their intention. A drive-thru window was built for Citizens Bank, which used the entire first floor and basement.
“We looked at it as a very simple bank deal,” he said. “We ignored everything up above it for the most part. New Kensington 18 years ago was not dynamic enough for us to get any significant leasing there. We didn’t expect to fill it up.”
Kelly noted the city’s recent redevelopment and growth, noting specifically the new UPMC St. Margaret Family Health Center, Voodoo Brewery and Pioneer Apartments.
“There’s a lot of good things happening. That’s why we think it’s a good time to sell as well,” he said. “There’s a lot of energy there.”
Kelly said they have used Ten-X with some success in the past, so they decided to try the auction to sell the building. There is a reserve price in addition to the starting bid, but Kelly would not disclose it.
Describing it as the largest building in downtown New Kensington, the auction listing notes it is located in a federal opportunity zone, a local Corridor of Innovation and an area qualifying for state redevelopment. Those designations make it eligible for grants, tax breaks or other development incentives.
The listing says that “liberal zoning” presents many options for a new owner.
The building is in the city’s C-3, commercial business district zoning area, which provides for a wide range of uses, zoning Officer Tony Males said. A residential use, such as apartments, also would be allowed but would have to go through a special exception process.
Kelly said they believe the building has the potential to be used for regular or senior apartments, student housing, a hotel, office space or a combination of uses.
The property includes three lots, one of which had been used for the drive-thru, which could be used for parking, Kelly said.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Brian at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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March 20, 2022 at 11:00PM
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New Kensington's largest building, formerly Citizens Bank, to be sold at online auction - TribLIVE
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